Storm Éowyn: Housing Executive ‘prioritising emergency repairs’ after receiving over 5,300 calls
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive says it is continuing to prioritise emergency repairs after receiving over 5,300 calls mostly relating to storm damage since Friday (January 24).
To date, 1,200 repairs have been carried out with the housing body continuing to receive a high volume of queries in the wake of Storm Éowyn.
In an update on Monday (January 27) afternoon, Grainia Long, chief executive of the Housing Executive, said: “Preparations for Storm Éowyn began early last week, when it became clear this weather event was to become a major incident.
Our teams, contractors and homelessness partners were placed on standby and an extended Severe Weather Emergency Protocol was put in place, ensuring those at risk of rough sleeping were cared for.
“Since Friday, we’ve received over 5,300 calls and issued over 1,300 emergency repairs – mostly relating to storm damage, fallen trees and heating issues.
“On Friday evening, as the poor weather subsided – and when it was safe to do so - our maintenance teams and contractors were able access sites, assess the scale of this damage and prioritise our response.
“Already, 1,200 of the reported emergency repairs have been attended to and we are hopeful that many more will be dealt with today.
“Our thanks go to our teams and our contractors who worked over the weekend to assist with tenants and to get repair work carried out.
“Today (Monday, 27 Jan) we’re continuing to prioritise emergency repairs. We continue to receive exceptionally high numbers of calls and, because of the scale of storm damage and continued disruption, it may take some time to complete all our repair works. “We would like to thank our tenants for their patience and understanding as we prioritise this work.
The chief executive pointed out all the Housing Executive’s offices are open and local teams are available if any tenant needs to discuss any urgent housing issue.
She added: “The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) remained in place over the weekend to provide extended support for those experiencing homelessness.
“Our teams also worked round the clock to ensure all available accommodation and support is available to those who found themselves homeless or who were rough sleeping.
“We would like to place on record our thanks to those homeless providers and voluntary organisations for providing additional support, extra bed spaces and outreach during this time.”